“Appointment Boarding Pass” from Robert Karbaum E-Commerce Manager, Weins Canada Inc./Don Valley North Lexus wins the 2013 Dealer Best Idea Award; PureCars’ Smart Advertising wins 2013 Innovation Cup Award; presented at 2013 DrivingSales Executive Summit

Salt Lake City, Utah – October 17, 2013 – DrivingSales today announced the winners of the 2013 DrivingSales Innovation Cup and Dealer Best Idea Awards. Robert Karbaum, E-Commerce Manager, Weins Canada Inc. / Don Valley North Lexus won The Dealer Best Idea Award for “Appointment Boarding Pass,” and PureCars’ “Smart Advertising” won The Innovation Cup Award for the most innovative dealership solution of the year. The awards were presented in Las Vegas on October 15^th at the sold-out DrivingSales Executive Summit (DSES). Over 1,000 dealers and industry professionals attended the three-day event, which concluded on Tuesday.

“This year’s winners represent the best of innovation and strategy in our industry. And, because the winners were judged and selected by dealers, their focused ideas - boosted by technology - are sure to be adopted and make a difference in showrooms across the country,” said DrivingSales CEO and Founder Jared Hamilton. “Each year, our Innovation Cup and Dealer Best Idea Awards are a source of inspiration to our team and to our attendees, and this year was no exception, rounding out our best-ever summit.  We congratulate PureCars and Robert Karbaum for offering the kind of creative thinking that will help move our industry forward.”

Selected by dealers from a competitive group of applicants, five finalists for each award presented onstage at this year’s DrivingSales Executive Summit. A panel of dealer judges asked questions of each presenter and scored each solution / strategy. The solution with the highest score was presented with the 2013 Innovation Cup Award. The dealership strategy with the highest score won the 2013 Dealer Best Idea Award. This year’s Dealer Best Idea Award was sponsored by Cobalt and included $10,000 in cash and prizes.

Robert Karbaum E-Commerce Manager, Weins Canada Inc. / Don Valley North Lexus, who took home the Dealer Best Idea Award, received the highest score for “Appointment Boarding Pass,” which leverages the airline boarding information email model, takes it mobile and applies it to dealership appointments across New, Used, Service and BDC departments. First runner up was Zack Freed, E Commerce Director, McCombs Automotive Team for ‘Sell My Car”.

Other Dealer Best Idea finalists were (alphabetically): Picture Perfect Reputation Management” – Megan Barto, Marketing Director, Ciocca Honda; “True Internet ROI” - Mark Brady, CTO/CMO, Fisher Honda-Kia, and “How to Visualize Big Data in the Dealership” – Jason Sturn, Digital Marketing Manager, LaFontaine Automotive Group.

PureCars’ “SmartAdvertising,” which delivers dynamic online advertisements based on a dealer’s in-stock inventory, received the highest score in The Innovation Cup Award competition. DealerSocket’s Enterprise Dashboard Reporting was the runner up.

Other Innovation Cup finalists were (alphabetically): CarWoo’s CarWoo! Connect, Flick Fusion’s Live Video App with Sales Overlay System, and RedBumper’s SmartPrice™.

The DrivingSales Innovation Cup and Dealer Best Idea Awards were part of an exciting line up at this year’s sold-out DSES, which included high-profile keynotes from former U.S. Navy SEAL Officer and decorated combat veteran, Leif Babin; global search marketing authority Danny Sullivan, and The Walt Disney Company®, as well as twenty-one dealer-selected breakout sessions from industry experts and dealers on topics ranging from CRM, digital marketing, fixed ops, hiring, creating a culture of success, selling pre-owned vehicles, leveraging ‘big data’, video, and more.

Focused on providing the most relevant profit-building information to help auto dealers formulate their business plans for the following year, the DrivingSales Executive Summit included three days of collaboration and fresh, leading-edge information from special-topic breakouts, expert panels, dealer and vendor contests, and world-renowned speakers.  Each year, the DSES is 100% dealer driven and designed specifically for the most advanced dealer principals and dealership executives in the industry. The summit has a vendor-neutral policy, meaning no vendor influence on presentation selection and adherence to a strict dealer-to-vendor ratio. 

For more information about the DrivingSales Executive Summit, visit: www.DrivingSalesExecutiveSummit.com or contact dses@drivingsales.com. 

 About The DrivingSales Executive Summit (DSES)

The DrivingSales Executive Summit is where the most progressive dealers gather to collaborate and learn forward-thinking trends in automotive operations. DSES features world-renowned experts on marketing, technology and retail operations from inside and outside the industry, who provide the most valuable and actionable insights for today’s dealership professionals.  The DSES agenda is dealer-driven, ensuring the content is 100 percent focused on the needs of progressive dealers. 

To protect the quality of the event, seating is limited and always held at a 5-diamond venue.  DSES has sold out every year.  For those interested in attending, securing seating as early as possible is recommended.  For more information, visit DSES.com

About DrivingSales

DrivingSales is a professional network serving the auto industry with dealer-driven news and information, online training, and performance data, all to enable dealers to make critical business decisions at their dealerships.  DrivingSales’ mission is to connect progressive dealership professionals to the people and information they need to maximize their success.  Founded by a third-generation car dealer, and opened up to the industry in 2008, today DrivingSales has registered users in over 50% of new car dealerships in the US and is active in several other countries around the globe.  To learn more about the DrivingSales community, training or performance analytics visit DrivingSales.com, DrivingSalesUniversity.com and DrivingSalesData.com

DrivingSales Media Relations:
Melanie Webber (melanie@mwebbcom.com), mWEBB Communications, 424.603.4340

Elizabeth Johnson (Elizabeth@mwebbcom.com), mWEBB Communications, 213.713.4865